Unique Cue maker or Hightower deluxe

cbi1000

cbi1000

It is what it is...
Silver Member
I want to buy a machine that I can build cues with. I'll prob be only building 5-10 cues a year. From beginning to end, butts, handles, forearms, etc. I want to know which machine you guys suggest. I?m looking for ease of use and easy tare down and set up to go from one function to another.

Thanks for the advice. If you don?t want to post publicly feel free to pm me. Also, if anyone has either of these machines for sale let me know too.

Thanks,
 
Hightower deluxe can do anything except inlay

but , my suggetion is

use basic hightower deluxe (not include taper bar....)

and

plus Unique taper shaper or Unique CNC machine

and ... my experience is...

you will buy more and more machine....:grin:
 
cbi1000 said:
I want to buy a machine that I can build cues with. I'll prob be only building 5-10 cues a year. From beginning to end, butts, handles, forearms, etc. I want to know which machine you guys suggest. I?m looking for ease of use and easy tare down and set up to go from one function to another.

Thanks for the advice. If you don?t want to post publicly feel free to pm me. Also, if anyone has either of these machines for sale let me know too.

Thanks,
Click to expand...

Hate to tell you this but one machine is not going to do it all.
I have both of them plus a full size metal lathe and a unique taper/shaper.
They are tools and each has its strong points and weak ones.

Adonisy has made a good suggestion, but then there is the band saw, spray booth, and a few other little costly goodies like tooling and such.

The cue lathe is just the down payment on what you will end up needing.
 
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WilleeCue said:
Hate to tell you this but one machine is not going to do it all.
I have both of them plus a full size metal lathe and a unique taper/shaper.
They are tools and each has its strong points and weak ones.

Adonisy has made a good suggestion, but then there is the band saw, spray booth, and a few other little costly goodies like tooling and such.

The cue lathe is just the down payment on what you will end up needing.
Click to expand...


All good points. I know i'll need a bit more things. But out of these two which one will work the best? Ease of use and what one is more accurate?

thanks,
 
well I guess to anwser your question YOU will have to go with the deluxe cue smith machine. For $2900 you can build a complete cue with just that one machine as for the cue maker machine your talking like $4300 to build a complete cue bucause you need to add the tappering attachment which is another $1100
 
I would have to go with the Chris's Deluxe machine. Not only do you get a single machine that can build a cue. You will get support that is priceless!!
 
I'll second that. I'm still latheless but I'll put my 2 cents in as I've spent hours and hours on each website mooning over the equipment and deciding which to purchase.
The Hightower, unique and Porper are all fantastic machines.
Hightower can give you more bang for your money by a longshot.
The quality is great and the support and knowledge base are second to none.
 
Cuemakers are giving cues away right now!!! Why not just call a cuemaker and get the cue you want? It will probably be cheaper in the long run and you will play more pool, not less.
 
cuemaker03 said:
Cuemakers are giving cues away right now!!! Why not just call a cuemaker and get the cue you want? It will probably be cheaper in the long run and you will play more pool, not less.
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Well, I have received the same "advice" when I was scouting for stuff and I do believe that those who are interested in cues now a days and is keen on learning the stuff, is not doing so because they would produce a wast amount of cues, live from their work or because they think they would be a millionaire ...

Personally, I have invested a lot of money in my current setup and I would never earn money making cues to pay down on my setup. For that I would need to sell a lot of cues which is not my game. I'm simply interested in the art of cuemaking and is eager to try combinations and designs to improve my game, on my own. Not to mention it's one of my hobbies. Even if I'm doing so I would love to have a cue from some of my favorite cue maker up here (DZ), but at the moment my funds has been put in the garage.

I have been looking for a lathe now for over a year, and the DeLux from Chris is the one I have opted for. However, since I live over in Europe, I need to rip off the 110V motor and add my own motor setup which adds to it all. Then S&H is for sure adding to the expenses which pretty much adds up to a sum of money which makes me able to buy a Chinese metal lathe.

I have not decided on any of these yet, since I have been looking for a used metal lathe at the same time but these goes for $6000 in my end..

My feeling is that a metal lathe would be more usable for me since I would work on other aspects then just cues so I could make parts for other machinery and possibly help out friends in other ways than just cues.

So CBI1000, just jump in to it and try and see how it goes:grin: Do however make some thoughts on if you are keen on being able to produce other things than just cues. If not, go for Chris setup which I would recommend even if I have not used his or Uniques machines (I showed pics of both machines to a mechanics engineer which said that Chris version looked to bee the best which was good enough form me)

Just my opinion.
N
 
I have a 13"x36" jet. Unique taper shaper and a Unique cue maker and and inlay machine. It takes lot more than just one machine as you will find out later. Band saw, Belt drum sander, bench ginder,lots and lots of wood. I love the Unique products but couldn't get by without my jet.
 
Both the unique and the hightower can do it

And the metal lathe can do it better. Most of us have way more than one of those options. I like both the Unique and the Hightower lathes , and have both. But for the most delicate steps of cue making I rely on my metal lathes. I say that without hesitation. A adequate level of accuracy can be had from the dedicated cue lathes if you spend the time to hone your skill with them until you can get around any weaknesses they have. It is folly to think that a 100# lathe can hold the same tolerance and repeatability of a 1000# lathe. But if you are in a hurry, the dedicated cue lathes are the fastest way to start making cues.
You may want to search for some cuemakers within a days drive of you and ask if they would allow you to stop by. I am sure you will find many of them have all the equipment I have talked about. And a little one on one will do way more to educate you than any well meaning discussion here.
 
olsonsview said:
And the metal lathe can do it better. Most of us have way more than one of those options. I like both the Unique and the Hightower lathes , and have both. But for the most delicate steps of cue making I rely on my metal lathes. I say that without hesitation. A adequate level of accuracy can be had from the dedicated cue lathes if you spend the time to hone your skill with them until you can get around any weaknesses they have. It is folly to think that a 100# lathe can hold the same tolerance and repeatability of a 1000# lathe. But if you are in a hurry, the dedicated cue lathes are the fastest way to start making cues.
You may want to search for some cuemakers within a days drive of you and ask if they would allow you to stop by. I am sure you will find many of them have all the equipment I have talked about. And a little one on one will do way more to educate you than any well meaning discussion here.
Click to expand...

Well said.

N
 
If you but a metal lathe what next? You'll stand there and scratch your head for weeks. How can this build a cue?

Metal lathes are not designed to build cues. After thousands of dollars and SEVERAL metal lathes you'll have what one hightower can do. You can't even imagine the hours it'll take you to set up a metal lathe. If you can't build a cue yet you no idea how to build a lathe.
 
Graciocues said:
If you but a metal lathe what next? You'll stand there and scratch your head for weeks. How can this build a cue?

Metal lathes are not designed to build cues. After thousands of dollars and SEVERAL metal lathes you'll have what one hightower can do. You can't even imagine the hours it'll take you to set up a metal lathe. If you can't build a cue yet you no idea how to build a lathe.
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We're migrating from the topic but if you are referring to my post here what I'll do with a metal late:

Tappering: I can do so on my CNC, but doing so on a metal lathe goes like this: Offset tailstock, add router on the top table, auto feed, done. This would be for a butt.

Tappering of shaft is normally done on saw blade setups but adding a tapper bar and a spring loaded router post would make you able to do so on a metal late. This would not be the main task for me but is doable. A separate setup for this would most likely be every ones outcome when they get going. Doing everything on one machine is not my ideal solution, which is why I have gone for a different setup.

Butt Joint install: Either through the heads stock if the lathe has a big bore, if not add a rotating live center on the bed and install (if you have bought a lathe with a long enough bed).

Butt Collet install: as mentioned under joint install.

Shaft thread install : Same as collet.

Shaft collet install: same as shaft thread install

Tip install: as collet

ferrule install: as tip install


Edit: Oh, by the way: I have not made a cue yet but I have rebuilt a miniature lathe to work as
a machine to install Irish linen, stacked leather wrap and leather grip for cues.

My last post in this thread.

N
 
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I concur with Gracio Cues... Hightower Deluxe is the way to go, especially for a beginner.

Say you buy a metal lathe, convert it to build cues, use it to build your first 5-10 cues (as you said you plan to do)... then decide that building cues is a pain in the arse and would rather just have a cue maker build the cue you want.
Think about which lathe is easier to sell and transport, the metal lathe or the Deluxe lathe? Which one do you think will get you most of your money back and how long will you have to wait to sell it?

Now, as you continue to build cues and have the time and space to dedicate to it, then yes... I would still buy another lathe or 2 from Hightower. His customer service far exceeds the normal!

PM sent!
Just my .02!
Zim
 
Zims Rack said:
I concur with Gracio Cues... Hightower Deluxe is the way to go, especially for a beginner.

Say you buy a metal lathe, convert it to build cues, use it to build your first 5-10 cues (as you said you plan to do)... then decide that building cues is a pain in the arse and would rather just have a cue maker build the cue you want.
Think about which lathe is easier to sell and transport, the metal lathe or the Deluxe lathe? Which one do you think will get you most of your money back and how long will you have to wait to sell it?

Now, as you continue to build cues and have the time and space to dedicate to it, then yes... I would still buy another lathe or 2 from Hightower. His customer service far exceeds the normal!

PM sent!
Just my .02!
Zim
Click to expand...

I do agree with you, I have been very happy with Chris service with videos and book. As mentioned, I have been eager for one but in as mentioned it would cost me as much as a metal lathe in my end.
The after sales marked is great here on AZ for these devices, however doing the same with a metal lathe is not that different which was my main point. That was the reason for mentioning that a metal lathe could be used to something else than Qs and again was the reason for mentioning that the man should think through if he would like to expand in other directions and make other stuff. If not - go for DeLux or Unigue.

As mentioned, a used metal lathe is around $6000 here and they sell faster than hot dogs on the web, locally. I don't want to spend that money on something used, which is the reason for sitting on the fence waiting :D

Have to catch a plain now.

Happy cue making.

N
 
thanks

Thanks everyone for your input on this topic. I have also recieved many pm's from you guys with info and contact info. Thanks for that. i will be contacting each of you.

Thanks again.
 
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